Oil and Gas Development

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Without smart planning, comprehensive pollution monitoring and the best available environmental protections, this kind of oil and gas development near our national parks will diminish America’s natural and cultural heritage one park at a time. To save these national treasures, we must educate our nation's leaders about what's at stake and turn up the heat in order to secure urgently needed safeguards.

That's why your immediate action to help NPCA address the threats posed by unrestrained fracking is so important.

What’s At Stake?

Air Quality

Fracking activities typically emit more pollutants than traditional oil and gas extraction methods, and the current lack of emissions controls on large concentrations of fracked wells can lead to increased ozone pollution.

Water Quantity

Fracking a single well can require millions of gallons of water, and significant new drawdowns can be problematic for western parks.

Water Quality

Wastewater from fracking operations is heavily toxic and cannot be reused, except for other fracking jobs. Existing disposal options create risks of groundwater, surface water and other contamination.

Habitat Fragmentation

Large concentrations of oil and gas development adjacent to national parks could significantly impair the ability of park wildlife to move beyond park boundaries.

Natural Experience

Noisy air compressors and traffic can alter the behavior of wildlife and impair human enjoyment of parks, and hundred-foot tall drilling rigs and gas flaring harm the visual experience.

Oil and Gas Boom Threatens Health of National Parks

The rapid increase of the oil and gas extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is outpacing our understanding of how massive concentrations of oil and gas wells impact surrounding lands. Without safeguards, the boom in fracking could significantly impact the air, water, wildlife and forests that are protected in our national park system.

Parks across the country are affected. The report details the existing and potential impacts to Glacier NP, Theodore Roosevelt NP, Grand Teton NP, Upper Delaware SRR and Delaware Water Gap NRA, and Big South Fork NRRA and Obed WSR.